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May 15, 2010

Voting – Our Christian Duty

On Tuesday, May 18, the citizens of Arizona will vote on Proposition 100. Through this initiative, the Arizona Legislature is asking voters to temporarily raise the sales tax by 1%, until May 31, 2013. Obviously this vote has huge implications both in the funding of services, such as education, and the cost of living and taxes in the State of Arizona.

When Jesus was asked about taxes, He took a coin and asked, “Whose inscription is on this coin”.

“It is Caesar’s”, they replied.

“Then give to Caesar that which is Caesar’s and give to God that which is God’s”.

In other words, Christians live in two kingdoms, the kingdom of God and the Kingdom of the world.

In the Kingdom of God, also known as the right-hand kingdom, God is master and our salvation is dependent solely on His saving grace. However in the Kingdom of the world, also known as the left-hand kingdom, we are commanded to be good citizens.

Therefore, as a citizen of the left-hand kingdom, it is our responsibility to become informed, know Scripture and the heart of God, interpret the implications of the proposition, and then vote as God’s wisdom guides us. We should never forget, though, that however God leads us to vote, His saving grace is sufficient.

On a slightly-related note, our State Representatives pay very close attention to the number of people who vote in each district. Politically, most Representatives will try to satisfy the needs of a district that has a high voter turnout than those that don’t. It’s just math and politics. So, a higher turnout on Tuesday will indicate to our Representatives that the citizens of this community are involved, regardless of how we vote.

May God grant you wisdom and may God grant wisdom to all the citizens of Arizona.